Hollywood, CA: In 2018, over 104 million people watched the Super Bowl while only 27 million watched The Oscars. But the 2019 Super Bowl ratings were the lowest in the ten years. Sunday night’s Oscars had a 14 percent increase in viewers from last year. How much ground did the Oscars make up in 2019?
Yeah, I don’t care either. It’s the doldrums of February and we are here to get you through by answering the really tough questions. Such as, IE, case in point, ipso facto – Who had a better career, Martin Brodeur or Mariano Rivera?
The Numbers
Marty: 691 wins, 125 shut outs, 2.24 GAA and a .912 save percentage.
Mariano: 652 saves, 82 wins, 2.21 ERA, and a forest of broken bats.
Post season
Marty: 113 wins, 24 shutouts, 2.02 GAA, and a .919 save percentage.
Mariano: 42 saves, 8 wins, 0.70 ERA.
Hardware
Marty: Three Stanley Cups, Rookie of the Year, 9 time All Star, 4 time Vezina trophy winner, all time leader in wins and shutouts.
Mariano: Five championships, 13 time all star, all time leader in Saves.
Biggest Failures
Marty: The famous “Matteau” goal in Game 7 of the ’94 semi-finals after giving up a two goal lead in New Jersey on the Messier hat trick in Game 6. Losing a 7 game series in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Avalanche in 2001. Finals loss to the Kings in 2012.
Mariano: The opposite field HR by Sandy Alomar against the Indians in ’97. The 2004 walk to Kevin Millar that led to the Dave Roberts steal and Bill Mueller single and an unprecedented Yankees’ collapse. The big error on a bunt in the 2001 World Series vs the Diamondbacks that led to the bloop game winner by Luis Gonzalez.
Supporting Casts
Marty: Marty was an unbelievable goalie, without question, but he landed on a team that mastered the neutral zone trap defense, which limited shots on goal. The Devils and that system were the ideal landing spot for a goalie.
Mariano: You won’t get many saves on a cruddy team. (Edwin Diaz will be able to vouch for that soon). The Yankees were a powerhouse during Mariano’s career, and made the in the playoffs in every year except 2008 and 2013.
What Else?
Marty: It should be noted that Brodeur has 140 more wins than any other goalie and he played more than half of his career before OT in the “tie” era. He has 105 career ties! If he won half of those he’d be well above 700 wins. His wife divorced him in 2003 because Brodeur was having an affair with her brother’s wife. Ice cold, Marty.
Mariano: You may have heard that Mo gave up fewer earned runs in the post-season (11) than men who have walked on the moon (12). He was the first unanimous election to the Hall of Fame. While there were certainly others worthy of that honor, he was a good choice for the ice breaker.
Mariano was a utility player on his amateur team, the Panama Oeste Vaqueros (Cowboys). He was playing shortstop when the team’s pitcher was getting shelled, so they asked Mo to pitch. The crackerjack MTM research staff has verified that Los Vaqueros did not play Enter: Sandman (entrar en sandman in Spanish) when he walked over from shortstop to the mound. But he pitched well and was invited to a Yankees tryout camp in Panana City two weeks later.
Verdict
Mariano. Sure, both were legendary local athletes and the GOATs of their crafts. It’s a tough one to call and without doubt a stupid question. But Brodeur boned his wife’s brother’s wife. That’s minus 10,000 points.
Come back tomorrow for Angry Ward, likely pondering another sports question that nobody asked. Follow us on Twitter at @BenWhit8, @MeetTheMatts, @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
